Echoes
by MissFiyerabaMeponineSherlock
Summary: Her last words echo in his mind, "And then, do you know, Monsieur Marius, I believe I was a little in love with you." Even years later, when Marius has married, when he has children, he still hears the echoes. They ring out in his mind and he knows that they always will.


**Hey guys! So this is my entry for the weekly facebook contest in the group Writers Unite! This is the first time I've ever submitted an entry, so we shall see how it goes. This weeks word was 'Echoes'**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Les Misérables or any of the characters**

Her last words echo in his mind. _"And then, do you know, Monsieur Marius, I believe I was a little in love with you." _And then she died. She was the very first to die at the barricades during the French Revolution of 1832. Éponine Thénardier, the girl who had been through so much, who had been through poverty, who had been forced to live on the streets, and to sell everything she had, is now gone from this world. Marius Pontmercy finds it hard to believe that his best friend is dead. He remembers every moment he ever spent with her and, still, the last words she ever spoke to him echo in his mind. _"And then, do you know, Monsieur Marius, I believe I was a little in love with you." _These echoes are all he has left of her. They keep her alive in his mind, but only in his mind. For she is dead. Dead and gone. Marius cannot change that, no matter how much he wishes he could.

"Goodbye, 'Ponine." he whispers. He will never see her smile again, never hear her laugh, never joke with her. No. She will not return this time. She has gone where he can never again reach her. Not until the day he dies. Marius half wishes that he could just end his own life now, so he could join her. But he knows he can't. Her death would be in vain, were he to kill himself. Éponine died to save him, she took the bullet that was meant for him. She saved his life and sacrificed her own. Marius blames himself for her death, even though she begged him, in her dying moments, not to worry about her, to forget about her. Marius will never forget about his best friend, nor her last words which will always be there, echoing in his mind, _"And then, do you know, Monsieur Marius, I believe I was a little in love with you." _She loved him! Yet Marius had not known, not until her last moments, when she confessed her true feelings. Marius realises how blind he was, how obvious Éponine had made her feelings for him. But he had not known. Now he does. Now he knows that his best friend loved him, but it is too late for him to wonder if he loved her. He pushes this thought away from his mind, finding it too painful to dwell on. He cannot allow himself to admit that, truly, he does love Éponine Thénardier. If he admits that, then it will hurt because now she is gone. There is nothing that can ever change that. Éponine is gone. Marius is crushed. He still hears the echoes.

Even years later, when Marius has married, when he has children, he still hears the echoes. They ring out in his mind and he knows that they always will. He visits her grave every day and he talks to her. He tries to believe that she's really there with him, but she is not and she never will be. She is gone, Marius knows this. She has been gone for years now. Sometimes, even if only for a moment, Marius is able to close his eyes and imagine that she is there. He can see her, smiling her beautiful smiling. She laughs and he can almost hear it. But then the laughter is replaced by the echoes of her last words. Then he opens his eyes and he sees her grave in front of him. Stone, cold, and grey. Beneath the earth. That's where Éponine is. Not in front of him, smiling and laughing. She is dead. This cold reality washes over Marius and reduces him to tears. She is gone and her tombstone reads:

_Éponine Laurelène Thénardier_

_1815-1832_

_Friend, Sister, The first to fall,_

_The world is a richer place because she once lived_

There's a bouquet of flowers, containing Delphiniums, Lillies, Roses, Lilacs, Larkspurs, and Orange Blossums, placed there by Marius. He brings her flowers every time he visits, so there are a lot of flowers. Éponine always loved flowers and, when she was living, she was often referred to as a rose in misery. Marius wishes that she could be there with him now. He wishes that she could be alive again, he wishes that he could see her again, hold her again. But he knows that he can't, that he will never be able to. Not until he dies and joins her in the blissful realm of death. But that day is far away.

Decades pass and he never forgets her, never stops hearing those echoes. His children grow up and marry off, he and his wife grow old. They watch as their grandchildren run around them, singing and playing, as children do. Marius watches them and hears Éponine, _"And then, do you know, Monsieur Marius, I believe I was a little in love with you." _He's never told his wife that he still hears her, she would only worry. She doesn't know that he always hears Éponine and that's okay. Marius keeps Éponine's last words to himself. Though what Marius doesn't know is that his wife hears him, at night, when he is crying for Éponine. He misses her with every fibre of his being and, though he is married, he still loves her.

As Marius grows older, he also gets sicker. He is dying and he doesn't have much time left. His family crowds around him as he lay, dying, in his bed. They speak to him with those hushed and tender voices used when one is dying. His wife weeps openly, as do his children and grandchildren. He hears the echoes louder than ever now. He knows he'll see her again very soon. Then, he closes his eyes and he takes a deep breath in. That breath is his last.

When he opens his eyes again, he sees his body. He is dead now. He looks around until he finds what he was looking for. Éponine. She is waiting there, for him. She smiles at him and walks towards him. Marius looks down at himself and finds that he is no longer that sick, old man. He is young again. And Éponine is there with him. He embraces her, revelling in the moment. He has waited so long to see her again and now, she is there. She is there to guide him to the afterlife. She is his angel. Marius smiles brightly. He no longer hears the echoes, no. Now she is actually there with him, the echoes leave him alone.

"'Ponine..." he whispers, "I've missed you!"

"Well I'm here now, Monsieur Marius."

"That's all I need to know." he replies. And then, they depart this world, together at last.

**Well I hope you enjoyed!**


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